WEST PALM BEACH — People young and old wander into Bally Total Fitness with backpacks and athletic shoes, out with towels draped around their necks. But in a month, this gym will close after nearly 24 years of business. Members will get upgrades so they can attend other Bally fitness centers, but the nearest is 43 miles away in Coral Springs. Most of the regulars will never make it there, especially the retirees who use the location at 501 Village Blvd. because it's so close to home.

Some South Florida gym-goers are getting worked up over their work out. Since L.A. Fitness took over their gym, Bally Total Fitness, last month, they say they're getting mixed messages about their memberships. Take Maurice Forman, a lifetime member of Bally. He was told after the sale that he would only be able to use former Bally clubs, not the LA Fitness clubs closer to home. He used to go to Bally in Boca Raton , 17 miles away from his home in Boynton Beach , until it closed three years ago. Then, he started going to the franchise in West Palm Beach, 20 miles away.

If you're a Bally Total Fitness member, don't sweat it. Your gym is becoming L.A. Fitness, and the company announced this week that it will be "servicing all of the membership agreements that were acquired from Bally. " Customers have been told their contracts will be honored — even if they're only paying about $50 a year, like Fort Lauderdale resident Dane Hymore. Hymore said gym representatives initially told him his lifetime membership would not be honored. He and other customers complained, and hundreds signed online petitions.

Single South Floridians are invited to get their cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification and meet other like-minded people at the first United HealthCare of Florida's CPR for Singles event. It will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at two Bally Total Fitness centers: 8835 SW 107 Ave., Miami; and 620 Riverside Drive, Coral Springs. Protein shakes and snacks will be served. To reserve a place, a $10 donation is requested, which will benefit the American Red Cross scholarship fund. In Dade County, call 305-644-1200, ext. 238; in Broward, call 954-779-2914.

* A good cause Learn self-defense and fight cancer at Bally Total Fitness centers every Saturday in March. Sessions are at 1 p.m., and $8 of the $10 fee will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to be used for breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment. To find the participating center nearest you, call 800-FITNESS (800-348-6377). * Problem makeovers Barbara Sparks, spokeswoman for Dermablend Corrective Cosmetics, will perform makeovers for individuals with skin problems on Friday, April 3. She will be at the JCPenney in Aventura Mall from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and in Pembroke Lakes Mall from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sparks, who has a port-wine birthmark on her face, lectures on the psychological and social impact of living with skin imperfections, including birthmarks, scars, burns, pigment problems, cancer, AIDS and other medical problems that affect the skin.

If you're a Bally Total Fitness member, don't sweat it. Your gym is becoming L.A. Fitness, and the company announced this week that it will be "servicing all of the membership agreements that were acquired from Bally. " Customers have been told their contracts will be honored — even if they're only paying about $50 a year, like Fort Lauderdale resident Dane Hymore. Hymore said gym representatives initially told him his lifetime membership would not be honored. He and other customers complained, and hundreds signed online petitions.

Chan DeMaupassante saw the pink ribbons inside the Pembroke Lakes Mall on Saturday and knew she had to stop. The Pembroke Pines mother, 45, interrupted her afternoon shopping trip with daughter Destiny Cummings, 12, to join the line at Fusion Studio D, a traveling kiosk that promotes breast cancer awareness. "When I see the pink ribbon, it always piques my curiosity," said DeMaupassante, who was diagnosed with the disease at age 24. "Things like this help people become aware, and that helps raise money."

* Ila Fox Ardleigh, associate publisher of Palm Beach Media Group, was recently honored by the Salvation Army of Palm Beach County at its ninth annual "Hearts of Gold" luncheon at The Breakers hotel in Palm Beach. Ardleigh was honored for her professional achievements and ongoing community support of various nonprofit initiatives on behalf of several county charities. She is president of Win For The Kids, an organization that raises funds to support organizations serving disadvantaged children in Palm Beach County, including the ARC and the Florence Fuller Child Development Centers.

Some South Florida gym-goers are getting worked up over their work out. Since L.A. Fitness took over their gym, Bally Total Fitness, last month, they say they're getting mixed messages about their memberships. Take Maurice Forman, a lifetime member of Bally. He was told after the sale that he would only be able to use former Bally clubs, not the LA Fitness clubs closer to home. He used to go to Bally in Boca Raton , 17 miles away from his home in Boynton Beach , until it closed three years ago. Then, he started going to the franchise in West Palm Beach, 20 miles away.

WEST PALM BEACH — People young and old wander into Bally Total Fitness with backpacks and athletic shoes, out with towels draped around their necks. But in a month, this gym will close after nearly 24 years of business. Members will get upgrades so they can attend other Bally fitness centers, but the nearest is 43 miles away in Coral Springs. Most of the regulars will never make it there, especially the retirees who use the location at 501 Village Blvd. because it's so close to home.

The Bally Total Fitness Club at 750 W. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale will close on Friday. The fitness company's lease has ended, and Bally officials said there are no plans to open at a new location. Gym members can use their memberships at any of the seven other locations in South Florida or others nationwide, company officials said. The Bally Total Fitness at 959 E. Commercial Blvd. in Oakland Park and 2701 S. University Drive in Davie are the nearest locations. The company also will refund memberships in full.

Chan DeMaupassante saw the pink ribbons inside the Pembroke Lakes Mall on Saturday and knew she had to stop. The Pembroke Pines mother, 45, interrupted her afternoon shopping trip with daughter Destiny Cummings, 12, to join the line at Fusion Studio D, a traveling kiosk that promotes breast cancer awareness. "When I see the pink ribbon, it always piques my curiosity," said DeMaupassante, who was diagnosed with the disease at age 24. "Things like this help people become aware, and that helps raise money."

Five years ago, Tom Bassano was diagnosed with stage-3 colon cancer. He spent two weeks in the hospital, recuperating from surgery. The day after he was released, he eased back into his fitness routine with a walk. A week later, he was doing tai chi, and within six weeks, he was lifting weights again. Bassano has no doubt his lifelong passion for fitness aided his recovery. "Absolutely," he says. "Even the doctors said if I wasn't in such good shape, the outcome might have been a lot worse."

Being on the road used to be a viable excuse for bailing on a workout. No gym, no safe place to run outdoors -- no exercise. But now there's little excuse for a routine going AWOL. Several hotel chains have added in-room fitness programs so guests can stay fit while traveling, and more are likely to follow, as fitness becomes a focus of hotels' ever-expanding amenities. Among the offerings is Marriott hotels' Fit for You program, with three types of equipment (delivered to the room for free)

Sheryl Rogers and John Witmer exercise nearly every day inside their Boca Raton health club. At work, they're inside all day long, too. So when the normally pale Witmer showed up at Bally Total Fitness recently glowing like he had spent the week at the beach, Rogers had to ask. "Hey, John, you look like you got some sun. Did you go on vacation?" Hardly. Witmer, like Rogers, served on the Sun-Sentinel's Consumer Panel and had tried a sunless tanning lotion the night before. Rogers was impressed with the virtual tan. "He looked good," she said.

Alan Reynolds has lost quite a bit since beginning his thrice-weekly workouts at the Bally Total Fitness gym -- a Mont Blanc pen, a black leather briefcase, two sets of golf clubs, a pair of tennis shoes and some weight-lifting equipment. Nine days ago, Reynolds became a crime victim for the third time at the gym at 2701 S. University Drive. "About a year ago, I ran across [University Drive] to grab a cup of coffee after my workout," the insurance broker said. "When I came back, a woman was in the process of breaking into my car. When she saw me she jumped into a car and drove off."

Telemundo's morning show De MaM-qanita has launched a 12-segment series titled NiM-qos Activos, Familias Sanas (Active Children, Healthy Families). The segments, which will run every other Monday through Nov. 8, promote physical activity for children and families and raise awareness about the dangers of childhood inactivity. The series, which launched on June 7, follows the progress of two families -- the Manzanos and the Espositos -- as they work with different experts to increase their physical activity and develop a healthier lifestyle.